Raijor Dal, a new party backed by peasant organisation Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, was launched here on Friday, joining a crowded electoral field in Assam with the objective of unseating the BJP-led coalition government in the 2021 Assembly elections.

Raijor Dal (People’s Party) was launched at hotel here in the presence of filmmaker Jahnu Barua, who described it as a historic occasion and hoped all regional forces would come together to work and save Assam.

The party was launched on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, which also happens to be the birthday of KMSS chief adviser Akhil Gogoi, who has been in jail since December last year for his alleged role in the unrest during the anti-CAA movement in the state.

The new party is said to be an outcome of the “desire” of the people of the state for a strong, inclusive, democratic entity to take on the BJP, the Congress and the AIUDF.

However, there are at least three other new regional parties — Assam Jatiya Parishad backed by leading youth organisations All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP), the Anchalik Gana Morcha and the United Regional Party, Assam. A few more are in the pipeline, including a party of tribal organisations, making the electoral field crowded, leaving those trying for unity of the regional forces worried because it will only “divide” the voters seeking a change from the “misrule” of the BJP and making it easier for the ruling dispensation to retain power.

The KMSS, along with its 70 ethnic organisations, Bir Lachit Sena, Assam, and Sanjukta Anchalik Dal are supporting Raijor Dal, whose organisational structure along with its officials will be ready within this month.

KMSS president Bhasco D Saikia said that the new party will not only be inclusive but politically federal and economically self-dependent, working to oust the “fascist” BJP. He also said they will still “strive” for unity of regional forces without which it will be difficult to oust the ruling BJP and save Assam from its “divisive” policies.

Saikia said the new party will fight against the Citizenship Amendment Act, seen as a threat to the identity and culture of Assam, and will continue working to ensure the rights of Assam over its resources.

“Raijor Dal, as the name of the party suggests, will be a party of the people of Assam,” Saikia said.

Senior state cabinet minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took a subtle dig at the formation of the new parties, saying it will only help the ruling BJP which has set a target of winning 100 out of the 126 Assembly seats.

“I am also appealing to the regional parties to unite because it will be difficult to name 20-25 parties at our rallies. Since they will lose, why don’t they unite. It will make their and our job easier,” Sarma said at a function here on Friday.

Extending his best wishes to Raijor Dal, leader of the Opposition and Congress legislature party leader Debabrata Saikia on Saturday asserted his belief that no political force can dethrone the BJP in Assam without the assistance of the Congress.

If anti-BJP forces and new parties truly feel that the BJP is the “principal” enemy of the people of Assam and their interests, then they should join hands with the Congress and “jointly” fight the electoral battle in 2021, Saikia said.

He exhorted the anti-BJP forces to make necessary adjustments and evolve a common programme with the Congress to achieve this end. Saikia also urged the new parties not to tar the Congress and the BJP with the same brush as “enemies of Assam” and thereby “mislead” the electorate.